Daniel Penny: Former US marine who used chokehold on Jordan Neely cleared over his death
A former US marine who used a chokehold to restrain a homeless man on a New York City subway has been found not guilty over his death.
Daniel Penny, 26, was charged with criminally negligent homicide following the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely in May 2023.
Video of the incident appeared on social media and heavily split opinion in the US.
Jordan Neely. Pic: Mills & Edwards LLP
Some praised Mr Penny’s decision to subdue an erratic Mr Neely – who had a history of crime and mental illness – while others accused him of vigilantism against an unarmed black man.
Mr Penny insisted he never intended to kill Mr Neely, who he held in a chokehold for nearly six minutes on the floor of a subway train after it arrived at a station.
On Monday, following a trial which started in October, he was cleared of criminally negligent homicide.
A judge had already dismissed a more serious charge of manslaughter in the second degree against Mr Penny after jurors said they could not reach an agreement.
Mr Penny, who did not give evidence during the trial, left the Manhattan courtroom without commenting to the media following the verdict.
Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office did not dispute that Mr Neely was loud, angry and threatening as he boarded the train, shouting that he was hungry, thirsty and wanted to be sent back to jail.
However, they alleged Mr Penny used deadly force without justification and for far longer than necessary by grabbing Mr Neely from behind with an arm around his neck and bringing him to the floor.
They also alleged that Mr Penny, who served for four years in the marines and went on to study architecture, was warned by people around him about the risks to Mr Neely’s life and intentionally ignored them.
Jordan Neely. Pic: Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News/TNS
Mr Penny’s lawyers said he was protecting himself and other subway passengers from a volatile, mentally ill man who was making alarming remarks and gestures.
They also claimed Mr Penny was acting out of alarm that Mr Neely might hurt a woman and a child he was approaching.
Lawyer Steven Raiser said his client held Mr Neely “until he knew that he was no longer a threat” but did not apply pressure on his airway during the last crucial moments.
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A medical examiner ruled Mr Neely’s cause of death as compression to the neck – though Mr Penny’s lawyers tried to claim that other causes such as drug usage and sickle cell disease may have been a factor.
Mr Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator who was well known in New York City.
He had an extensive criminal record, with previous arrests on charges such as evading fares, theft and assaults on three women.
Following the verdict, his family lawyer Donte Mills said Penny’s acquittal showed “the system” could not be relied on.
He said: “Everyone who’s pissed off about this verdict, I challenge you to go outside today and help one person, that’s how we beat the system, that’s how we turn this around by being there for one another.”
Mr Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, said following the verdict: “It really, really hurts. I had enough of this. The system is rigged.”
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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